The past four years under the current administration have been a painful experience for the people of Malawi.
Clearly, there has been no coherent strategy for steering the country out of the economic mess it finds itself in.
The nation has faced some of the most severe forex shortages and fuel scarcity in recent memory.
Despite some stabilisation of fuel supplies, it is not certain that the situation will remain stable.
Given the country’s ongoing struggle with significant forex shortages, there is no guarantee that fuel availability will continue uninterrupted.
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Malawians have seen prices of basic commodities and services skyrocket, while their incomes have either remained stagnant or seen only slight increases.
This has only added to the financial burden that many are struggling to carry.
Amid this economic crisis, the government has continued to spend recklessly on politically expedient initiatives that do not yield substantial returns.
Take the Affordable Inputs Programme, for example. This programme has continued to drain resources despite its clear lack of economic sense.
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The government has also continued to borrow excessively, primarily for consumption, even though both local and international observers have warned that the country’s debts are becoming unsustainable.
There has been little action from the Cabinet to indicate that there is a genuine desire to heal the nation.
It is only in recent weeks that we have begun to see Cabinet ministers waking up and taking actions they should have been pursuing from the moment they assumed office.
This shift began with Vitumbiko Mumba, the former Minister of Labour, who visited workplaces across the country to see first-hand how Malawians were being treated.
He uncovered disturbing violations of the country’s labour laws, which highlighted a widespread problem that had been largely ignored.
What were the officers at the Ministry of Labour doing all along? After all, the ministry has an inspectorate that is supposed to monitor compliance with labour laws.
Why were these officers not doing their job, allowing workers to be exploited?
The excuse of insufficient resources does not hold water, as regular inspections should have been carried out as routine exercises.
It begs the question whether these officers were going to work each day without fulfilling their responsibilities.
Recently, we have also seen the Malawi Bureau of Standards begin to take more proactive measures to ensure that standards are adhered to in the marketplace.
Officials from the agency have been conducting inspections of shops and taking action against traders who fail to meet required standards.
The most recent example of ministers taking action comes from Peter Dimba, the current Minister of Labour.
Following in Mumba’s footsteps, Dimba has also taken the initiative to visit workplaces to ensure that workers’ rights are being protected.
While ministers are ultimately policy holders, they are also responsible for ensuring that their ministries are functioning properly.
When their officers are failing to do their jobs, it is up to the ministers to step in and make sure things are done correctly.
Unfortunately, for much of the past four years, we have seen ministers whose responsibilities seemed to end at familiarisation tours or presiding over events.
After such occasions, they would return to Capital Hill and relax in their comfortable offices.
The performance of most ministers has been abysmal, and this is a big reason why the nation finds itself in its current state.
Ministers must be held accountable for their actions—or lack thereof. They are not in these positions simply for their own benefit.
Every public officer, including those in ministries where ministers have demonstrated that progress is possible, should be expected to work diligently for the betterment of the nation.
For example, the issues of workplace abuse and exploitation are not new, nor are they hidden.
What has been missing in the past has been ministers who genuinely cared about addressing them.
Similarly, the problem of rising commodity prices and the failure of traders to adhere to quality standards is not new either.
What has been lacking is leadership that is willing to confront these issues head-on, rather than ignoring them or allowing them to be swept under the rug after being bribed by those who exploit workers.
What is happening now, where ministers are suddenly taking responsibility and addressing these concerns, shows that it is indeed possible to heal this country.
But this can only happen when the right people are placed in the right positions and when they are truly committed to the well-being of all Malawians.
Where an administration can demonstrate genuine political will and focus on policies that prioritise the country’s long-term economic health rather than short-term political gain, there is hope for recovery.
However, this requires a concerted effort from all levels of government and an unyielding commitment to serve the people of Malawi.
Only then can we begin to heal the nation and pave the way for a more prosperous future.
